Been a HD passenger for the last 10 years. Well, the guy left and took his bike. Now I've got the "itch." Going to take classes this summer and hopefully purchase a bike at the end of the year or the first of next. The question is.........how do you decide what bike you can handle? So let me know what YOU ride. Thanks, Susan

I'm not female, but I do have a point of view here as my wife is finally thinking about driving instead of just riding. First consider where you will be riding. City speeds don't need quite so many horses to do. This goes along with the weight hand in hand, because when, and it is when not if, your drop it you have to right it, so keep it light enough that you can. You need to be able to keep it up at the stops, so keep it short enough to be able to reach the ground easily. Okay, now remembering all that, you buy the best that you can afford, short enough to be able to reach the ground, light enough to pick it back up, powerful enough to get where you are going, cheap enough to afford, and fun enough to enjoy. Now buy the biggest that fits and never look back.

I've been a Honda girl from day one. My first bike was a 1986 Honda Rebel, 250cc. I put over 35,000 miles a year on that little bike, and rode 12 months/year on the east coast, in rain, snow, sleet.....you name it! I jumped from the 250 to a Suzuki GS1000 that I traded for the summer with a guy I was dating in Philly.
My second bike was a 450 Rebel, on which I put 50,000+ a year when I moved out here to CA. I rode that baby everywhere, from Long Beach to Santa Barbara, did the Love Ride several times, hit Cook's Corner pretty often, and Mother's in Seal Beach...the usual SoCal hangs.
Once I got my first dog and started surfing, I didn't ride for a few years, but then was given a beautiful Honda Shadow 600VLX. I put some miles on that baby, too, and only stopped riding after a work-related accident a few years ago, where I landed on my head at 50mph, after being launched 25 ft in the air. whoops. Because of my neck injury, I only rode my bike short distances, and then ended up selling it to pay some bills.
I'm in the market now for another bike; looking for another Shadow, but this one will be an 1100 for sure! The bike in the photo is my cherished VLX.

My ex left after he abbused me for 3 years after I broke my back at work and had to have 2 surgerys. I was the one who wanted us to get a bike and after he got it he made me go to work to pay for it while he was out riding... I really resented the bike and even hated riding with him. But after I broke my back and he moved out I started to think I really would love to ride my own. I went to the dealer and bought a 1200 sportster low and I loved my little bike. I put 500 miles on that bike in 3 weeks and while riding to the dealer to buy chaps I thiught to myself "this bike beats the hell out of my back" I was wondering if the dealer would trade my sportster for something more comfortable. When I got there they were more than happy to have me up grade my bike to the most beautiful bike on the showroom floor a 2009 Street Glide it was the same color as the sportster and it had everything i needed bags to carry all my stuff a sound system and it was comfy to boot I did have so modifications to make it low enough to put my feet on the ground but now after 15 months and 13000 Ican ride with the "Big Dogs" and keep up.

Great info...thanks yall. I'm takimg my riders course in June, then deciding on a bike. I didn't grow up riding dirt bikes or anything...it's all new to me to be in the driver'seat. But I am so excited!

I ride mostly hiways, so I knew I needed something bigger. My 'friends' told me to stay under 500cc but I went with a 82 Honda Magna v 45 750cc LOVED HER!

I now ride a BMW and a good friend bought my old bike...
Let me share her story...
she kept dropping her husband's big cruiser.... I encouraged her to 'sit' on my bike.... the first words out of her mouth...I can RIDE THIS!!!
It was priceless!

my first bike was 1200 XL custom sportster, only put 3000 miles on that which I love and just bought my 2009 softail dulex love love love it, now i just need a man to go with it. not to sure what men are looking for these days out there on the road. Do all men really need that barbie doll??? Ride safe ladies....

I've only got a season under my tires. I started with Sassy - she's an 82 honda magna 750. She's a lot like me...a little older, low mileage, not real pretty but she's got a lot of get up & go! We've become great friends.
We just had our 1st ride of the season today. It almost felt warm (it hit the 40's in Michigan.)
Everyone starts with something different. I was told not to go 500cc or less on a starter bike. Gotta go with what feels good and affordable

My first (only) bike is a Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic and I think it's a great starter bike. My friend who has been rider longer than I've been alive tried to talk me into something with a larger cc saying that I will outgrow this in no time and will want more power sooner than later. Being that I had never ridden before (except for the class I took) had me convinced this was a good starter size. I still love it to pieces. When I get more experience I may upsize, but it's all good for now.

I started out on a 2007 Yamaha V-Star 650 Silverado - I bought it, took the safety course & got my license! I rode it for 2 years then traded up to a Yamaha V-Star 950 Tourer. This bike has better curve response and is fuel injected. It gets to 110 very fast & if I didn't have too many speeding tickets I'd stay there! ;)

I do miss my 650 a little - you hade to muscle her a bit and it was fun - but she stalled some and even though we tried to adjust the clutch a lot - it just didn't fix that entirely. Sooooo I got the 950 - never stalled her once. Dropped her after hittin' gravel - but I picked her up myself!!

Very informative. I am a motorcyle virgin as LeatherLilly puts it. I just received my license last year and looking to buy this sping. I want to buy a HD one day but can't afford one right now. I was looking into a used 05 yamaha Vstar 650 for now do yall think this is a good starter bike?

Hello..I just bought a Honda Rebel 250,as I just started riding...I find the Rebel to be very comfortable and easy to handle for myself as I"m only 5ft tall.I did take a riding course in Kelowna with the safety council and highly suggest that new riders take it..

I am a BMW girl all the way. Have a K1200GT. What a bike! My first was a 650, but I outgrew it in 4 months, glad i learned on something small before gratuating to my big boy. Only bad thinkg about BMW for me is the closest dealer is 125 miles and generally eats-up 1-2 days of time during peak riding times. I have learn to do a lot of the work on my bike myself.

I bought a Dyna Lowrider for my first bike. It was a great ride. I ended up putting on alot of miles taking road trips and even though I customized it to fit me I wanted something more comfortable for the long haul so I traded it in finally last September for a Deluxe. It's very comfortable on road trips and even though it's a bigger bike it's easy to handle. When choosing a bike take into consideration how much and what kind of riding you'll be doing...in town as opposed to road trips. Good luck and happy riding!

Hey ..fairly new to the Site never posted ..anyways I was reading this post and loved the comments by "FLSTFgal" I so agree with everything said "dont let anyone push you" ..I am a Newbie ..I bought my Harley 2009 Dyna last summer had it delivered Aug/08 ...took me over a month just to get the courage to ride it and that only came when a buddy of mine came over and took my Bike out to the Parking Lot and got me up and ridin her ..I took the M2 course and i highly recommend that to any new rider ..I evenually got out of the P-LOTS and rode on secondary Rds with my Buddy and got the riding bug and started riding by myself short distences ..I just love my Bike and the feeling it gives me such Freedom ..My Bike is in Storage for the Winter and I am counting the days to riding season to begin and put in the ridin time to gain that experince i need to feel comfortable ..And i joined a Bike Club to meet other Riders ..When i made the descion to buy my Bike i researched it and visited 5-6 dealerships sat on afew different Bikes and when i sat on the Dyna i just knew it was the Bike for me ..I'm short 5'3 but my feet touched the ground and i felt comfortable on it ..never felt like i made the wrong choice ever..the Bike is only as powerful as I need it to be ..So "just do it" Buy it and you will never Look Back ..And the Biker Men are awsome and mostly Hot ...thats the Bonus !!